1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with a method for controlling the file transfer capabilities of an interactive text processing system. More particularly, this invention is directed to achieving control of the attached diskette of an interactive text processing system while it is emulating an attached host terminal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several different forms are known and commonly used for representing editable or revisable documents in information handling systems. Some examples are OIIA L3 used by Displaywriter and 5520 Systems, a form often called "Two-Baker" used by 3790 and DOSF/DPCX/8100, and the DCF input form used by Document Composition Facility and Professional Office System. Displaywriter is a word processor, capable of and primarily intended for stand-alone operation, manufactured and sold by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM Corporation). It includes a diskette drive and diskette on which the drive will write documents in L3 form and from which it will read the same. It is a type of text processor commonly known as a "what you see is what you get" or interactive system. The 5520 is a shared logic, multi-station text processing and office communication system that is also sold by IBM Corporation. The 3790, classifiable as a minicomputer, is an intelligent text processing system. The 8100, which is also classifiable as a minicomputer is adapted using DOSF, a text processing package, and DPCX, a special operating system, as a text processing system. Both the 3790 and 8100 are manufactured and sold by IBM Corporation. Document Composition Facility (DCF) or SCRIPT/VS is a text processing program product sold by IBM Corporation. The Professional Office System or PROFS is a menu driven program product sold by IBM Corporation that is designed and particularly suitable for handling and managing a wide spectrum of office related tasks. It includes text processing capabilities that utilize the DCF form of editable text representation. In this type of text processing system, the operator imbeds textual matter in the document that is subsequently interpreted as one or more formatting commands and is retained in the editable document form as textual matter. This document form, when subsequently interpreted, is formatted as a whole document or batch processed.
These are several of the available text processing systems from IBM Corporation that can be employed to create, manipulate and format editable documents. There are also many other fine text processing systems and software support therefor available from other suppliers. Due to the overwhelming number of text processing systems now available, it is not uncommon to have a diverse mix of different text processors at any particular installation.
Part of that mix is created by supplying a secretary with a Displaywriter while the principal the secretary works for is given a terminal that attaches to a host data processing system. Assuming that there are methods and implementing means for transforming the incompatible document forms created by each type of text processing system so that they can be edited by the different parties using their own text system, there still exists a need to transfer any document between the secretary and principal, and the reverse, probably several times.
Therefore, in addition to transforming documents from one form to another and then back again, as required, the ability to forward documents from one system to another to take advantage of such transform capability is required. One effort in this area is DISOSS, a sophisticated and large program that enables a System/370 host to communicate with an 8100. This IBM Corporation program product is provided to permit a user to converse with the 8100 and a matching program therein DISOSS D, and thereby format a batch transfer job to be run by the host system. The dialog between DISOSS and DISOSS D is one between two good sized operating systems.
Displaywriter can use a DISOSS D analog to pass its diskette based documents to and from a host system. However, this DW analog fills all of the available DW memory leaving no room for typing tasks. Transfers must be accomplished as separate tasks that consume large amounts of DW resources and operator time. The use of resident operating systems like DISOSS D or file handling mechanisms, such as, for example, a program to implement a "get file" and "put file" arrangement, leave the burden of information transfer with the function poor interactive text processor instead of with the host system that is designed to handle such tasks.